Second Sight

Vision of Choice is more or less the brainchild of guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Brockmann who is also part of the great power metal combo Krilloan. The debut full length “Mistress of the Gods” has been a fantastic piece of music with a perfect combination of elements taken from power, melodic and traditional metal. Three years on we now get album number two titled “Second Sight” and I think it is safe to say that anyone having liked the first effort won’t have any complains. Steve and his compatriots keep marching on and stick to their trademark strengths to deliver another glorious piece of thrilling metal.

Where the predecessor has been quite a massive album with nearly an hour of playing time things have been trimmed down a bit. This time we get “just” 45 minutes of material, making it a perfectly dosed amount of music. Consisting of ten uplifting hymns Vision of Choice have honed their style and offer an approach which is easy to enjoy from the get-go but offers enough variations and clever tricks to keep listeners coming back. Sweepingly epic harmonies are pitched against the crunchy and straight forward riffs, melted into songs that combine heaviness, subtly technical prowess and breath-taking melodies. The lead harmonies range from being uplifting and lofty to some slightly darker and at times even melancholic moments.

Opener “She is Danger” gets the album going with a nice and irresistible mid-tempo groove and a simple yet effective chorus part. The second track “Eyes of Freedom” is where things really start to get interesting. Slightly slower than the first cut this song is built on straight riffing and steady drumming but surprises with a wonderful bridge and chorus section. Showing their diversity track number three is the up-tempo banger “High Roller”, once again delivering catchy and insanely melodic moments. The album more or less follows this formula through to the end but not without some surprises along the way. Vision of Choice know when to step up the energy level and increase the pace as they are able to go thunderously heavy with a menacing undertone, but also have no problem opting for gentler and more subdued moments.

Full of catchy rhythms and memorable hooks this album is a great representative of its style based on the instrumental factor and the songwriting skills but like most of us are aware of the overall quality of this sub-genre often stands and falls with the singer - so how is this front covered? I am glad to tell you that there is nothing to worry here as once again Lukas Remus is the man behind the mic. His silky yet powerful voice suits the compositions like a glove. He has no problems to adopt to each part, either accompanying the music with his raspy yet pleasant tone, put mellower touches into his delivery or add some muscle when the situation asks for it.

Listening to “Second Sight” will have you smiling from ear to ear as the guitars buzz, drums thunder, the rhythms rage and Lukas performs some of the catchiest vocal lines you will here the whole year. This album is a majestic slab of power and melodic/heavy metal, full of energy and bringing a positive mood. With the perfect feeling for when to step up the energy level and increase the pace this record has a great flow and is pure fun from start to finish. The production is also more or less flawless, very transparent and dynamic without any element overpowering the others. All I am wondering about is why Steve decided to once again release this album independently as it easily surpasses the majority of similar outputs by labels. Anyway – jump to the band’s page and get yourself a copy!